Yakimochi/Grilled Mochi Recipe

I have a bag of mochi sitting in my fridge, just waiting to be puffed up, brushed with soy sauce and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds. Grilled mochi makes the best snack: it’s fast, filling and completely satisfying.

Traditionally mochi is toasted on a wire net over a charcoal grill, much like barbecue, but it’ll puff up equally well in a pan or the toaster oven. There’s something magical about mochi when you heat it up – it turns into a gelatinous, gooey, almost alive mass that bubbles and sighs as you grill it.

Yakimochi/Grilled Mochi Recipe

2 blocks of mochi
1 tablespoons of light soy sauce
1 tablespoon mirin
sugar to taste
toasted sesame seeds for garnish (optional)
skewers

Mix together the soy sauce, mirin and add sugar to taste. I usually put in 1/2 tablespoon. Cut up the blocks of mochi into thirds and microwave for 20 seconds to soften enough to push the skewers in. Alternatively, you can grill your mochi whole. Heat up a cast iron pan or grill over medium heat and arrange the mochi so they are not touching each other. Grill until golden brown, gooey and crisp, flipping often. When the mochi are golden brown, brush with the soy sauce mixture and let it sit on the grill for a little bit longer so the soy sauce mixture can caramelize a bit. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and enjoy hot!

Note: feel free to brush your grill mochi with whatever your heart desires! I had some leftover dengaku sauce, so I brushed that on as well for an extra sweet-savoury flavour.